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Gospel: Mt. 5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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If you have ever played a video game, then you know that there is always a series of levels.
The first level is the easiest, and the final level is the most difficult.
Sometimes it takes multiple tries before you succeed in beating that final level… but if you do, then you’ve mastered the game.
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If Christianity were likened to a video game, then today’s Gospel would be the final level: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
If you can freely do this, then you’ve mastered Christianity.
Have I mastered Christianity?
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Most of us likely have not. There are some mountains too tall for us to climb, humanly speaking. Forgiving those who’ve hurt us can be one of them.
But anything is possible when our heart is absorbed in Christ. Suddenly, he does the loving and forgiving through us.
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This is how the game is mastered, so to speak, by walking the path of surrender until, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ living in me” (Galatians 2:20).
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Image credits: (1) Kashmir Observer (2) Sermons by Chris Goring (3) Gentle Christian Parenting